Bobcat PRIDE held their very first Second Chance Prom on March 20 in the LBJ Ballroom. The prom was an opportunity for LBGTQ+ students to have a prom where they could take whoever they wanted and dress in any attire they chose. The prom was open to all students for a door price of 10 dollars to support Bobcat Pride’s future efforts.
Purple and green tables filled the room and were decorated with fish bowls, stickers and miniature decks of cards for the “Under The Sea” theme. Finding Dory played on two projector screens as music played for students to dance to on the dance floor. There were tables for food and a polaroid photo area. Throughout the night they also showcased two drag shows and held various games with prizes given away.
Levi Leal, Bobcat PRIDE president and ceramics junior, said The Second Chance Prom has been something Bobcat PRIDE has wanted to host for a while and it had been in the works for about a year.
“Some (high) schools have very restrictive rules at prom when it comes to LBGT students,” Leal said. “A lot of times females can’t wear suits and vice versa, or they can’t take same sex dates, and a lot of people didn’t have a good experience in high school.”
Bobcat PRIDE members raised money and spread the word about the event in the quad in the weeks leading up to the prom. Members of sister organizations Lambda and Transcend of Texas State showed support by spreading the news through social media and attending the prom.
Gus Canell, Lambda member and family consumer sciences freshman, said he grew up in a small town where he was the only openly gay kid. He said he felt he did not have the courage to take who he wanted to his prom because it was a very judgmental town.
“It’s a no judgment zone here,” Canell said. “You can’t be judged from your own community. It’s a safe place to dance to whatever song I want and with whoever I want.”
The organizers of the event wanted everyone to be able to have a good time with other open-minded students who would be just as excited about the prom.
Students like Hannah Herbey, interdisciplinary studies sophomore, said she did not have lots of friends in high school and said she enjoys that there is a community for everyone to enjoy being around each other.
“I know if I would have taken my girlfriend to prom I would have got some not so nice looks, but I was able to take her to this prom,” Herbey said.
Bobcat PRIDE hopes to make Second Chance Prom a tradition for LBGTQ+ students to look forward to every year.
Bobcat PRIDE’s mission is to educate students on sexual and gender orientations, how to respect each other’s pronouns and to provide a support group for LBGTQ+ members. Their meetings are discussion based and sometimes bring in speakers to talk about sex education, mental health or abusive relationships. Meetings are held on Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. in LBJ 3-3.1.